Its headless chook season again and out come the silly messages from employers and safety regulators telling us to be careful and shifting as much blame onto employees as possible.
This pearl of wisdom from SafeWork Australia:
“Alcohol and work health and safety do not mix. Stay safe when attending work Christmas parties”
But this one, Thanks to Bob Cummins, may be more apt:
There are a lot of those safety Christmas messages going around at the moment. And, apparently, according to the ILO, there is an increase in industrial and construction injuries at the festive season.
But asking the worker to be careful is not going to change a thing. And by continuing to peddle this belief that the worker might not be paying attention because they are thinking of holidays, presents and the likes stops us form tackling the real problem, which is closer to the scheduling and planning of the works.
So, here’s an alternative Christmas poster and message for you to share and print off.
“Dear worker, because of our inability to manage deadlines effectively, Christmas and the Holiday’s it brings each time this year have been a complete surprise to us. It’s with regret that we inform you that you will be at an increased risk due to the pressure we will be putting on you to complete works. Therefore, we ask you to be careful, this way, we can shift the focus towards you and your wandering mind full of baubles and turkey.”
If it wasn’t so sad it would be laughable.